SPRINGFIELD - A Boston Road barber was charged with murder Friday, after a man police say he shot in the forehead died after lingering for a day on life support.

Angel Morales, 30, of Coomes Street, is being held in lieu of $1 million bail after an arraignment in District Court. The charge was added to an assault with intent to murder allegation following the death of 27-year-old Victor Vega.

Morales turned himself in to police Thursday afternoon, a day after a wild shoot-out at the All Stars Barbershop at 438 Boston Road on Wednesday, according to witnesses.

Investigators said Morales' and Vega's girlfriends, who are sisters, got into a fight outside the shop. The beef started over a drug debt, and the men got involved, with Vega first shooting at Morales while he was cutting a 12-year-old boy's hair, according to Sgt. John M. Delaney, aide to Commissioner William J. Fitchet.

"It escalated to the point where the men began shooting at each other," Delaney said. "It was over a bag of weed."

Vega fired two shots at Morales, police said. The bullets whizzed so close that Morales had holes in each pant leg, according to investigators.

Police said Morales grabbed a revolver from his backpack as Vega fled, followed him into the parking lot and shot him at close range as Vega sat in his SUV.

Delaney rejected a possible self-defense argument.

"He had already walked out. He could have called police," the sergeant said. "He could have escaped out a back door, but instead he went into his backpack and grabbed a gun."

Police were able to contact Morales by cell phone Thursday and persuade him to turn himself in. Investigators have identified him as a Latin King gang member; state records show neither he nor the shop were licensed.

The state Division of Professional Licensure Friday notified Springfield police that the All Stars barbershop is not properly licensed, and requested the police take steps to shut it down.

State Rep. Cheryl Coakley-Rivera, D-Springfield, said Friday that the city has a problem with barbershops operating illegally.

Coakley-Rivera, chairwoman of the House Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, said she is requesting a meeting with city officials and officials with the Division of Licensure to discuss ways to crack down on illegal barbershops.

Police shut down an unlicensed barbershop on Pearl Street several months ago after police responding to a report of shots fired found guns and drugs inside.

Coakley-Rivera said the solution could be as simple as having the city request anyone requesting a local business license for a barbershop show proof they are properly licensed by the state.

Lawyer Harry L. Miles entered innocent pleas on Morales' behalf Friday. The $1 million cash bail amount was uncontested by the defense.

There did not appear to be any family or supporters of Vega at the proceeding, though court officers cleared the front two rows of the gallery for security reasons.

Vega was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center early Friday.

It was the city's third homicide this year.

Morales is due back in court April 27 for a pre-trial conference.
Staff writer Patrick Johnson contributed to this report.